Call the Midwife is top Christmas Day show but ratings fall

The Christmas special saw the team of midwives relocate to South Africa

Call the Midwife was the most-watched programme on Christmas Day - but audiences on 25 December fell to their lowest level on record, figures show.

The historical drama attracted an audience of 9.2 million.

It is the smallest number of viewers for Christmas Day's top show since the current ratings system began in 1981.

Mrs Brown's Boys got nine million viewers, the Strictly Come Dancing special had 8.9 million and The Great Christmas Bake Off had 8.2 million.

Data from those watching on-demand services on smartphones and computers is not included in the figures, from research body Barb.

'One big family'

Call the Midwife fans saw the nuns and nurses from Nonnatus House travel to South Africa in a bid to prevent a hospital from closing down.

Heidi Thomas, creator and writer of the Call the Midwife, said: "We are always so proud to be part of BBC One's Christmas Day schedule, and absolutely delighted that so many people joined us.

"At this special time of year it really feels as though the cast, crew and audience of Call The Midwife are one big family, and we can't wait to share series six with everyone."

The new series returns to BBC One later this month.

The Queen's Christmas Message was in the top 10

BBC One had eight of the 10 most-watched programmes on 25 December, while ITV had two.

ITV soap Coronation Street drew 8.1 million viewers, while Emmerdale pulled in 6.2 million.

The other top 10 programmes for Christmas Day were Doctor Who, EastEnders, The Queen's Christmas Message and Disney film Frozen.

Audiences for Christmas Day - which traditionally attracts big audiences - have been falling in recent years with the introduction of catch-up and on-demand services.

No programme has attracted more than 20 million viewers since 2001, and the figure of 15 million has not been achieved since 2008.

Call The Midwife's 9.2 million is just over half the number who watched Wallace And Gromit: A Matter Of Loaf And Death in 2008 (16.2 million).

The single biggest Christmas Day TV audience was recorded in 1989 when 21.8 million watched the UK premiere of the film Crocodile Dundee.

The average Christmas Day audience this decade is 11.1 million. In the 1980s, it was 18.5 million.